Today’s guest is an accidental hospitality leader. She has been in the hospitality industry for more than a decade and half, all while managing the ongoing renovation work across the growing portfolio for the 8th largest hotel company in the US. Bridget Rooks is the Senior Director, Renovation and Capital Projects at Sonesta Hotels. Bridget joins the host Dan Ryan to share her journey through the hospitality industry and how her playwriting skills have influenced  her views on hospitality. 

Takeaways: 

• Hospitality is like a warm welcome to a guest. You are ready to greet the guest and meet any needs they have for their occasions, all while being prepared to exceed those expectations. 
• For customer renovations, think of your design narrative as your thesis statement or elevator pitch. The stakeholders are a part of this process so don’t forget to include them as well. 
• Don’t be afraid to say that you don’t know the answer to something. You will never get the right answer or learn how to properly do something if you aren’t vulnerable and ask questions.
• In order to make your work process better, it’s important to learn from past experiences. You can look back and see what you could do differently and make the process run better. 
• Getting feedback from the development team is important for making sure that a design is going in the right direction. This will help guide you toward what the client had in mind and what else might need to be included. 
• The needs for clients and guests will vary between the quality of a hotel. For example, an upscale hotel would have different needs than an upper upscale hotel.
• You won’t be able to respond to what each guest says that can be improved in a hotel. But it’s still important to try and balance all of them and hear what guests are saying and improve the hotel in the best way possible for everyone.

Quote of the Show:

2:22 “I would define hospitality as a warm welcome” - Bridget Rooks

Links:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridget-rooks-9452934b/
• Website: https://www.sonesta.com/

Shout Outs:

1:23 Brian Quinn

6:40 Trader Joe’s

7:03 Benjamin West

7:33 Toby Nudelman

8:45 Vicky Smith

37:18 Sonesta Select Prototype Hotel

37:20 Foxboro, MA

37:50 DLR Group

Ways to Tune In: 

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0A2XOJvb6mGqEPYJ5bilPX
• Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/defining-hospitality-podcast/id1573596386
• Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGVmaW5pbmdob3NwaXRhbGl0eS5saXZlL2ZlZWQueG1s
• Amazon Music: ​​https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c904932-90fa-41c3-813e-1cb8f3c42419
• Podbean: https://www.defininghospitality.live/
• Youtube :